A longer than expected morning in court ended without a ruling from the judge on a hearing for two nurses indicted in Winkler County.; The Honorable James L. Rex, state district judge, chose not to rule today at the Winkler County Courthouse on the motions presented by the defense attorneys for Vicki Galle, RN and Anne Mitchell, RN, the two nurses indicated on felony charges of misuse of official information.; The charges were filed after Galle and Mitchell reported a physician to the Texas Medical Board over concerns about his practice.; The nurses were also fired by the Winkler County Memorial Hospital.
More than 80 people were in the courtroom for the hearing – many of which were nurses who showed up to support Galle and Mitchell, and the rights of every practicing nurse in Texas to advocate for patients.; Texas Nurses Association General Counsel Jim Willmann and another colleague were among those attending the hearing.; TNA was among the first to break the story which by now has received national attention from individuals and organizations including the American Nurses Association.
It’s not clear when Judge Rex will rule.; Some reports say a ruling could come as early as Friday; others say it’ll be one to two weeks from now.; If the judge denies the nurses’ motion to dismiss the indictment altogether, the case will head to trial.
What are they thinking in Winkler County?
